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| Photo by Nicole Rupersburg. |
"Owner Luigi Cutraro remembers when he first opened the doors to Sangria 12 years ago. At that time, Royal Oak was a hub for locally – and independently – owned businesses, defined by its countercultural ethos and its growing visibility as a vibrant downtown destination. Now, Royal Oak is becoming more 'corporate,' he notes – as Ferndale becomes the new champion of the quirky and independent, long-time Royal Oak mainstays like Sangria struggle to differentiate themselves from the increasingly homogenized look of Main Street.
'Luckily for Sangria (and Luigi), its long history and continued popularity place it far ahead of its other competition. First, as a salsa club: Salsa Wednesdays and Latin Thursdays with DJ Cisco in the Sky Club are just as popular as ever, particularly with metro Detroit's large salsero community. But we already know about the salsa, and there isn't anything new that can really be said about it. Except that in the past 12 years since Sangria opened, there have been 27 salsa clubs that have opened and then closed. Sangria was the first and is the only one still left. And also that DJ Cisco has been the resident DJ here for the past 12 years since they opened, an almost unheard-of length of time for any DJ to have a residency in one place (if for no other reason than that most clubs don't survive that long)..."
Read the rest of the story here.
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